Estonia holds international Russian educational event

Estonia's three major cities, Tallinn, Tartu and Narva, on Saturday held the International Russian Language Grammar Test "Total Dictation" despite domestic disputes over the Russian influence amid the ongoing Crimean Crisis. During this annual cultural event, local people got together to write down a dictation in Russian language, which will be checked and nominated by a special grammar commission. Total Dictation is created to draw attention to literacy and to develop a culture of literate writing in Russian language and it is free for everyone and held simultaneously in dozens of cities in Russia and worldwide. It is also a kind of flash mob which provides a platform for people unfamiliar with each other to gather at one time in one place. The purpose of Total Dictation is to make people think, how they are literate, and instill a desire to increase this literacy, according to event organizers. A first such event was organized by philology students from Novosibirsk, Russia on March 11, 2004. Since 2012, the Total Dictation has became an international event that was supported by Russians abroad and people studying and practicing Russian language in their countries. In Estonia, Total Dictation was first held in 2013.